Lion Links: 9/11/18

It was another rough weekend for Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride’s season died with a whimper, and Orlando City couldn’t quite get it done against Sporting Kansas City. But hey, the NFL is back, so that’s fun, plus OCSC plays a team even worse than it is, so perhaps good things are around the corner. Let’s do these links.

Summer Transfers Paying Off for OCSC

However rough Orlando City’s season might be (and it’s been rough), a bright spot has been a couple of players that weren’t bought until the summer transfer window. Carlos Ascues has impressed since his arrival on loan from Peru, and Shane O’Neill has consistently started since his arrival at the club. While the efforts of the two haven’t been enough to help reverse the club’s woeful record, they are some bright spots that possibly point towards a happier future.

Rosell Recognized

Oriol Rosell has been named to the bench of the MLS Team of the Week. He is listed in the subs for his exploits in the Lions’ 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City over the weekend. With a 90% passing rate, more than one dangerous ball played over the course of the match, and a solid time defensively, Rosell was certainly a bright spot during the loss. He was always going to need to shoulder some of the creative burden with all of the defensive midfielders the team fielded, and he certainly did that. Congratulations, Uri.

Sigi Schmid Resigns

The coaching carousel stops for no team and no man, and indeed it has refused to stop for the LA Galaxy and Sigi Schmid. The German stepped down as head coach of the LA Galaxy effective immediately following the team’s 6-2 walloping at the hands of Real Salt Lake. With the Galaxy winless in their last six games, the winningest coach in MLS decided to call it quits, although he says he doesn’t want to step away from soccer altogether. Longtime MLS coach Dominic Kinnear, a Galaxy assistant at the time of Schmid’s resignation, has stepped in as interim head coach and will attempt to right the ship and lead LA to the playoffs.

Stateside Champions League Final?

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Apparently, discussions have begun regarding the possibility of hosting the UEFA Champions League Final in the United States — specifically New York City. Jaume Roures, chief executive of Spanish broadcasting company Mediapro, recently said on a radio show that those very discussions are currently ongoing. While there isn’t any concrete news as of yet, the idea of the Champions League Final being played outside of Europe is more feasible than it would have been in the past after the news that a La Liga game will be played in America for the first time this season.

Free Kicks

Taylor Twellman has some food for thought regarding the USMNT coaching vacancy.

Here’s your chance to play some 4-v-4 at Orlando City Stadium.

The Philadelphia Union have a new mascot. I’ll let you make your own decisions about it.

That’s all for me. On a non-soccer-related note, if you happen to live in North or South Carolina and you’re under notice for evacuation, please get out and go somewhere safe. Apparently Hurricane Florence is looking pretty nasty, so grab some beer, get out of Dodge, and go relax for a few days while staying safe. That is all, ciao.